Flush type latch assemblies are used extensively on aircraft such as for fastening the two halves of an engine cowling together. A latch assembly typically includes a latch having a hook and a keeper assembly having a keeper arm which is engaged by the hook end of the latch.
Airplane cowlings are subjected to substantial stress and care must be taken so that each latch assembly is properly adjusted to take its share of the load. Latch assemblies where the keeper is adjustable are well known, as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,564. Also, latch assemblies where the hook can be adjusted lengthwise to compensate for variations in the location of the latch keeper are known, as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,624.
In some applications, it is desirable that the latch have two hooks to reduce the bending moment on the keeper. With a double hook latch, usually the keeper arm rather than the latch is made adjustable. This adjustment is particularly important with a double hook latch in that if there is unequal loading on the hooks, there is a potential for latch failure.
In some applications, it is undesirable or impossible to use an adjustable keeper. For these applications, there is a need for an adjustable double hook latch that minimizes the possibility of unequal loading on the hooks. Before the invention described below, such a latch was unavailable.